My name’s Viviana. I’m from Italy and I live in Piacenza, a small town in Emilia‐Romagna.Last year I was selected for the assistantship in Vienna.

Da: C. M.  (mx@com4us.com) 

A: <v…visc@tin.it>

Dear Mrs. Viviana Visconti,

we are very pleased about the commitment, that our school is receiving a language assistant for the school year 08-09.We are looking very much forward to co-operate with you.

Since I unfortunately don´t possess any Italian-speech knowledge, we have to communicate in English. I hope that´s alright with you.

My name is C. M. I´m the head teacher of the elementary school L-straße, in Vienna.

At the school a team of committed and highly motivated teachers instructs. (10 chief instructors and about 12 auxiliary teachers)We are an elementary school with about 190 pupils, from the most diverse nations. The migration part of the pupils lays about 80%. (Turkey, Serbia, Croatia,..)Our pupils are between 6 and 10 years old, and are from the most different social levels.

The instruction-language is German. In addition to this, there are English-lessons starting from the 1st class. The pupils with not-German as their native language get instructions in their native language additionally (Turkish, Serbian/Bosnian)So Italian would be a further language for our pupils and the teachers too.

Our school applied for a language assistant, so the pupils will get more information about other languages, countries and cultures. Since this is our first attempt, we considered about an employment for about six months.In addition, a longer employment is also possible for us.

From your request I could read, that you are interested in sports and music and already you had some foreign experience.

We would love to assist you getting an economical apartment nearby.

I may expect an early reply, so we can soon go on planning your stay in Vienna.

Yours sincerely

C. M.Head teacherVS L-straßeVienna

Tel+ Fax:0043/01/--------Vs---@.wien.at

8-giu-2008 17.43Language assistant -Vienna

Two days after discovering I had been selected, I received a detailed e‐mail by the head teacher of the hosting school, describing  the school target and the school organization, and I was offered  assistance for organizing my stay in Vienna.

ERASMUSLEONARDO DA VINCI

ssis ?

It was time to prepare my  luggage. I needed warm clothes, because winter in Austria is very long!!I also collected REALIA, all objects relating to Italian culture, group and pair games, books,……and all previous experiences like  the Erasmus and Leonardo  da Vinci projects and the knowledge matured at the school of Didactics (Ssis)

ssisMilanoUCSC, 2 years + 1

What’s the aim of your activity?Always start from items that students already know (x+1)Always stimulate students’MOTIVATIONShow you are interested in what you teachMotivate your choiceAsk most experienced teachers for suggestionsImportance of feed‐back

ERASMUS PROJECTHalle/Saale, GermanyMartin‐Luther Universität - 10 months

“I live in Italy and I live in Europe…I’d like to feel more European!”“I must improve foreign languages in order to learn more about this continent”“I want to experience how people live in different countries”“I want to understand different cultures…even if sometimes it is very hard!”

LEONARDO DA VINCI PROJECTCanterbury, EnglandConcorde International Language School – 3 ½ months

! “Remember your target audience!”

!“Always double-check!”importance of being professionalcreativity makes the difference

In my previous experiences I learnt…

My cultural baggage

1st Induction Meeting VIENNA October 2008COMENIUS PROJECTVolksschule Leystrasse, Wien

During the 1st Induction Meeting in Vienna I was very excited, because I couldmeet all my “colleagues”, the other assistants doing the same program in Austria.We learnt more about our condition: from a linguistic point of view, we were having a full immersion in a different 

linguistic area,  experiencing the improvement – not immediate – of the language knowledge; from a personal point of view, we had to consider that we started the 

assistantship very excited and with lots of expectations, but we were experiencing a first cultural shock, after our arrival. We learnt, that a second cultural shock could come at the end of the assistantship, when  time was coming to leave our “job”, our colleagues and our new life abroad.

Free time

tandem1 →←1

private lessons

languagecourses

cinemateatromusei/gallerie d’artesportassociazioni culturali…..

Write articles

about your experience

Visit other schools

Luckily, as assistants, there is a lot of free time, during which it is possible to have a tandem with a colleague or another person, teaching our mother language and receiving  in exchange free lessons in the foreign language; there is time for giving private lessons or  for attending language courses.As  Comenius assistants there is have a sort of special permission for visiting other schools on the territory, discovering the foreign school system; there is time for visiting monuments, cultural attractions, for leisure and extra‐school activities. 

New culture

Teaching methods

Different organization

Exchange experiences

New perspectives

Promote your

culture

Improve your

competence

2nd Induction Meeting VIENNA March 2008COMENIUS PROJECTVolksschule Leystrasse, Wien

During the 2nd induction Meeting in Vienna, we analyzed the school from inside: we tried to elicit what we could give to our school and what we could learn or exchange to enrich our experience.

How to handle in a multicultural contextnew teaching methods and techniquesHow to teach my mother tongue as a foreign languageclassroom managementrelationship with colleagues + feedbackEU projectscollect teaching material

as Assistant: not stressed  and not too much responsible= good for training

not alone in the classes+ explore the school from inside (extra training)

This is the sketch which expresses our expectations  and our experience living  our assistantship “inside” the school

Food / Il cibo

Colours/ colori

Days + planets /

giorni+pianeti Happy birthday/

tanti auguri!

Tastes good! /

Che buono!

Numbers/numeri Games in

group or in pairs for

eachtheme

Games / Giochi di gruppo

Programme 2008/09 – ITALIAN COMENIUS ASSISTENT Visconti Viviana – VS 20 Leystraße 34, 1200 Wien

1B - 3 A - 3B – 4 A – 4B

4 A – 4B

VSK - 1B – 3B -4 A – 4B

3 B - 4 A – 4B

Songs / Canzoni • Tanti auguri a te! 4 A – 4B

• Fra‘ Martino 4 A – 4B

•Oh albero! 4 A – 4B

• Ci son due coccodrilli 4 A – 4B

• Ci vuole un fiore 4 A – 4B

• Oh che bel castello! 4 A – 4B

• La macchina del capo 1B- 3B - 4 A – 4B

• Era Lu-lu-lu, era dì-dì-dì… 3B - 4 A – 4B

• Gioca/Jouer 1B - 3B - 4 A – 4B

• Il caffé della Peppina 3B -4 A – 4B

Tombolacolours /colori

Objects / oggetti

Italian culture/ Cultura italiana

4 A – 4B

Pinocchio

2A –

4 A – 4B

Projekte:• Reise durch Italien 4 A + 4B (1 Woche + 1 Woche)

Bandiera;1,2,3, stella!Italian Folk Dance

4 A – 4B

4 A – 4B

4 A – 4B

Tradition/ Carnevale

All classes

Kooperation an den Projekten:Tmw (Geschmacksache)- 4 AInternationale Schulnetzwerk /Gebräuche u. Traditionen -alle Klassen-Projekt ”Heimat ist kein Ort, Heimat ist ein Gefühl” 4A - 4B Projekt “Wien in 200 Jahren – Ich beschütze Denkmäler” - 4 AProjekt “Brieffreund” – 1B

This is the program of my lessons inside the  school, a Primary school in Vienna.

Projekt: Reise durch ItalienKlassen: 4 A / 4 B

• Italia: Presentation (maps and geographical features)

•Italian Symbols;

•Italian houses and different building materials;

•Italian technology: Italian products;

• Products according to the territory

• Euro and Italian masterpieces throughout coins;

• Library: “Pinocchio’s adventures”;

•Textile Work: Pinocchio’s marionette ;

•handicrafts: wooden turner;

•Arts: drawing representing Pinocchio; drawing of a castle;

Bricolage: Italian cars, a Vulcan;

• Songs: � Ci vuole un fiore

� La macchina del capo

� Oh che bel castello!

•FESTA ITALIANA: Taste activities + dance

This  is the program for a 1 week extra‐project  in 2 classes: I could teach ITALIAN one whole week, presenting the country, culture, symbols, products, the main activities, and I decided to include as many subjects as possible, so I could present Italy with Power‐point presentations, we did activities organized in learning stations and we created, sang, tasted and danced in Italian style!

SYMBOLEN

This is an example of  a slide referred to Italian symbols, with which we could start a conversation in class 

STATION 1: Colour the map

STATION 2:Complete with the names of towns and regions 

STATION 7: Puzzle Italia

STATION 4: Write these words in computer

STATION 6: Write new vocabulary on the “lavagna”

‐ Italia ‐ Halbinsel‐ Inseln‐ Alpen‐ Apenninen‐ Adria‐Mittelmeer

Italia

STATION 3: Fill in the gaps 

STATION 5: Cut the map along the border and  paste it on a  coloured paper

Italy is a ____________ with the shape of a ______.The two main islands are ________ and _________.........................................................................................

This is a summary of activities children could do after the Power‐point presentation about the Italian territory. The work done  was collected in a personal folder . Activities were organized according to the different learning styles.

Italien

Italien ist eine ________________ und ist mit Europa verbunden.

Italien hat die Form eines ______________.

Zu Italien gehören noch zwei ______________: Sizilien und Sardinien.

Im Norden Italiens liegen die ______________ mit Bergen höher als 4 000 m..

Von Norden nach Süden erstreckt sich eine ______________ namens Apenninen.

Die Po Ebene ist das größte ______________ Italiens.

Italien ist eine Republik und seine Hauptstadt ist ______________.

Angrenzende Staaten sind Frankreich, die ______________, ______________ , Slowenien, sowie ______________ .

Italien ist unter anderem bekannt für seine ______________, Mode- und Designerartikel, ______________, Autos, ______________, Forschung, ______________, Filme, ______________und Touristenziele.

Halbinsel

Stiefels

Inseln

AlpenBergkette

Flachland

Fußball

Musik

Kunst

Rom

Schweiz

Österreich

Kroatien

KÜCHE

Architektur

Example of a gap‐filling activity

Days of the week+ planets

Posters along the stairs

Photos of activities ‐preparing traditional Carnival cookies‐ Solar system with planets + names of days‐ poster exposition along the school stairs 

4A

1B

3BPositive experience4 A  / 4B: Week Project – Italian culture  + Annual course of Italian (numbers, colors, action songs, traditional songs, historical explorations, Geography,  culture through Italian Euros, Pinocchio, Italian food,…) Folder/Portfolio of  activities done

Positive experience:1B / 3B: mini‐course of Italian (numbers, colors, action songs) and creation of a small writing book to complete.

4A- 4B

School’s end

Christmas

Children learning Italian were involved in the Christmas and School’s end party, singing a traditional song and playing action songs.

International Projectby Kultul Kontakt

MACEDONIAMontenegroAustriaSerbia+ Bosnia+ Ucraina

“Being a child

in Europe”

Starting from the beginning of my assistantship, I was invited to take part  to an International Project  held at school: the international delegation was at first hosted in Vienna  and we met again in Macedonia , so I had the extra‐opportunity to enlarge my assistant’s experience.

the “internatio

nal” team

my colleaguesmy school

COMENIUS in Vienna: I discovered the city, its cultural attractions and Cafés, living in a  traditional and multicultural atmosphere   

COMENIUS in Vienna: 

Class excursion to Schönb

runn

COMENIUS in Austria: Assistants’ excursion to Graz

COMENIUS in Vienna: Pizza and Italian food for colleagues and friends

COMENIUS in Vienna: Language courses…and after‐language courses!

COMENIUS in Vienna: head teacher = first tutor  

COMENIUS : International projects and professional experience

COMENIUS in Vienna:  a team like a FAMILY

COMENIUS in Vienna

: a 

multicultural expe

rience

Comenius = building the European school …& Europeans!